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Resogun Heroes Is the Best Kind of DLC

I got to go hands-on with Resogun’s Heroes DLC yesterday in Sony’s E3 booth, but more specifically I played several rounds of the Wrecking Ball mode that’ll be added. While Resogun’s install base has probably moved on to other games, Wrecking Ball offers quite a few totally unique changes to the formula.

First of all, you’ll notice that you don’t actually have a gun to shoot in Wrecking Ball mode. Instead you’ll charge up a shock wave to bounce an orange ball into enemies, hazards, and more with extra balls available as your score continues to skyrocket. Time slows down as you charge up your blast and a red line appears next to the wrecking ball to give you an idea of how on-target you are with your trajectory. Enemies continue to pursue your ship so you almost need to focus on avoiding hazards as much as you watch the wrecking balls fly back and forth, but getting a few bricks to bounce around and ricochet off of each other proves incredibly satisfying.

It took me a few tries to get used to the mechanic, especially since the base Resogun game got laser-focused on precision shooting to the left or right and these wrecking balls can bounce diagonally up and down on their way around the circular level. Resogun’s Heroes DLC is important in how smartly it changes the stock game while keeping true to the original experience. Other downloadable packs would do well to attempt such a creative new look at their original gameplay loops.

Take your average game of Resogun and consider how rote it becomes after you’ve played a level several times over. The keepers appear in the same place, right? The enemies generally follow the same patterns and you’ll have to rescue the little green dudes in almost the same order. You can use bombs when you’re in a jam and your gun will power up over time as you eliminate specific enemies but almost none of that holds true in Wrecking Ball mode.

I’m eager to play more of the DLC and revisit Resogun as it's sat dormant on my PlayStation 4 for a few months now. The pack will cost $4.99 on the PSN Store and aims to be out in just a few short weeks. Stick with GameRevolution for more from E3 2014 as we continue to crank out previews, news, and impressions from the show floor over the next week.